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Tuesday, 26 March 2013

Learning snippily

Today I posed a question on Twitter asking how to take a screenshot in Windows 8. I was specifically looking to take screen shots of the tiles on my non touch laptop. The only suggestion was the Snipping Tool and while this is easy enough in the Desktop side it was on the Tiles/Apps side that I was having difficulty.

The solution is actually in the Help Menu but it is a more complicated process than using the Snipping tool on the Desktop side.

Find the Snipping Tool through Search and pin it to the Start Menu and/or the taskbar on the Desktop side for easy access.

Open it, Alt Tab to required screen of Apps then Ctrl PrtSc to make it appear on the Apps side.

This is the same method one would use to get a clipping of a Drop down menu in any program.

Now I'm searching for a tool like Awesome Screenshot that works with Windows 8 so that I can annotate the images without having to use a two step process. Any suggestions?

Monday, 18 March 2013

Tube downloader with Dropbox

The inclusion of a short video clip in any presentation can lighten the mood, bring emphasis to or illustrate a point and certainly provides for variety from the presenter's voice. When using video in presentations it is important to remember to seek the owner's permission to use it and to include any copyright information attached to the video. Here's the simplest method I have found for ssaving and using short video clips.

A range of apps can perform this function on a mobile device but this is a simple method that uses Tube downloader and Dropbox to get the video from the web to your presentation in a few easy steps.

The app is available for iPhones, iPads and Androids. It downloads video from a wide range of sites including YouTube, Vimeo, and Flixxy. If you can play a video in a web browser, this app will enable you to download it. There is both a free and paid version.

1.Open the browser window of the Tube downloader app and paste the URL of the video
2. Select play and then choose download from the pop-up menu. If this is not enabled, select save to cache.
3. When video is finished locate it in either the Files or Cache menu depending on your previous choice..
4. Choose Open in Dropbox, this will save the file to your folder of choice.
5. From presentation interface choose Insert Video from file, get it from your Dropbox, adjust size and you're done. Easy!

Remember to delete the video from your Dropbox once inserted into your presentation.

Sunday, 10 March 2013

Readlists

The Readlists site provides a quick and easy method for preparing an ebook from web articles for offline reading.

Login to Readlists and simply add the URL of each of the articles you wish to compile into an ebook.

Add a title and description and you are ready to download the ebook directly to your device or embed on your website or blog.

The Readlists can also be publicly shared enabling multiple editors to add to or amend any individual list.

The range of export options makes this a very useful tool for all platforms.

Kindle

Simple online instructions guide the user through the Send to Kindle option.The contents page displays the title of each article allowing the user to move quickly to the desired reading. Individual articles which incorporate images are reproduced in full. The normal Kindle functions of increasing text size, creating notes, finding definitions and following links are all enabled.

ePub

The ePub version presents in full colour and with full functionality but disturbingly displays the Readlist compiler at the top of each page as if they were the author. Full links are still provided to the individual articles but individual authors are not listed as they appear in the original Readlist.

Readlists are a great method for sharing a range of links for reading on any device.

Wednesday, 6 March 2013

Travelling light

Our local library like so many other libraries has many identities and roles. Excellent services are provided to the housebound by a group of dedicated volunteers and library staff provide a variety of training for a range of technology tools, to name but two of the myriad of services provided.

The local area has many retirees with time to travel and the library has graciously provided the venue for me to present a session on Tech for Travel. The session will cover a wide range of tools available to the traveller in planning their journey, mobile apps to use while on the road and preservation of holiday memories.

Here is a short screencast on how to make an ebook from Wikivoyage.

Next up, preparing a Readlist book for travel purposes.
Which other web tools are you using for making ebooks?
What are your favourite travel apps?